The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1887-02-19


body of any one he wills, thus pro
ducing instant death. To prove
this elaborate ceremonies are gone
! through with. Afterward, at a sig
nal, all congregate around the big
, drum and dance and sing a monot
: onous kind of q chant, the women
on the outside of a ring formed by
, the men, initiating the peculiar call
: of the female swan, the men chant
, ing in a sepulchral tone, which
seems to lose itself in their throats
; The combination is not entirely
unmusical.
When a candidate is to be ini-
tiated into the order he is first taken
, into the medicine tent for instruc-
tions, which are secret; There he
is stripped, painted black from
head to foot, and a red spot is
painted between the shoulder blades.
/ When the candidate comes out
of the medicine tent he is clad only
in breech cloth, very small apron
and moccasins. Four preachers in
turn exhort the candidate, recitc
the history of the dance and the
order, adding that should he be a
good member his medicine will be
strong. He must give feast once
a year; if not, he will be unfortu-
nate and will meet with sickness
and death. If he is good, the Great
Spirit will have mercy on him; if
not, the Great Spirit will be angry
and expulsion from the order will
follow. After the candidate re-
ceives the holy claw or stone
from one appointed to cast it, who
takes his medicine bag and with it
traces the course of the sun, and
turns to the four quarters and says ::
"Now prepare yourself. l am 60
ing to transfer to you what | have
in my medicine bag;" and thrust
ing his bag toward the candidate
says: "How! There goes the
spirit! !" (Sometimes this is called
shooting" the candidate.) At
these words the candidate. who is
kneeling on a blanket, falls prone
upon the ground, to all appearance
dead. The friends and members
Of the candidates family, and those
wishing to make offerings to the
Spirit now congregate around the
fallen man and throw on his body
blankets, robes, skins and orna-
mcnts-anything they wish to give
until he is entirely covered up.
The priest now dances around the
supposed corpse, his assistants rat
tie gourds, and rattle and beat the
pillow until the priest says: II
will now show how powerful my
medicine is to bring him back to
life." Then the candidate COM
mences to move. Finally, resting
on his hands and knees, he vomits
up a mass of froth and blood, in
the center of which is found the
claw or stone with which he had
been shot" He is now presented
with a medicine bag, and is recog-
nized as a member of the order.
The candidate must attend the
three succeeding meetings in the
same costume (naked) and painted
in the same manner; then he is al
lowed to appear as he wishes.
They also initiate the spirit of
dead Indians, Ito set them right
to travel straight" They won't
say where the spirit goes, but after
initiation in the holy dance it will
20 straight to its destination. Af-
ter the ceremonies are over, the
soldiers take the food and lay it
near the medicine tent, where it is
distributed. The cutting and dis
tributing forms the principal at
traction to the members, and the
kettles are continually replcnished
during the performance. They
always commence the dance at mid
night, keeping it up until the fol-
lowing evening at sundown. Should
any one known to have committed
a crime enter the ring the leaders
notify the soldiers, and expulsion
of the guilty one follows. Should
he repent he relates the nature OF
the crime, pays a heavy fine and is
reinstated. Should any member
divulge the secrets of the order his
life is forfeited in way that none
know the instigatOr or perpetrator.
They have secrets, and, it is sup
posed, have signs by which one
may know another in the dark as
we'll as in the day. During the in
itiation and just at daybreak some
thing is whispered tp the candidate.
The Pa-gi-nu-hi-na-ki-wa-ci-pi, or
the circling Grow dance, is called
| by the Americans straw or grass
dance. Only members of the order
participate in this dance, and its
councils are secret. 1t is controlled
by three men selected at the starting
of the lodge from among the more
influential members Of the tribe,
who at death or upon resigning
their Office select their own sue
cessors. The regalia belonging to
t,,o 4hroo NV virtue of their office iG